Because she was bullied at school, Marcella de Bie (Tiel, 1990) sought refuge in the world of gaming. There she was accepted. She grew into a live streamer and presenter, and her goal is to be a millionaire before she turns thirty-five. "If you really want something, you've come a long way."
Beeldcredits: Fotografie: John van Helvert | Visagie: Chantal van ’t Hoff | Met dank aan: Cool Classic Club
Fotografie: John van Helvert | Visagie: Chantal van ’t Hoff | Met dank aan: Cool Classic Club
Because she was bullied at school, Marcella de Bie (Tiel, 1990) sought refuge in the world of gaming. There she was accepted. She grew into a live streamer and presenter, and her goal is to be a millionaire before she turns thirty-five. "If you really want something, you've come a long way."
When you think of gaming, you initially think of hobbies for boys. How did your passion for it arise?
"I was always a little different from others. Around the age of thirteen, I started gaming, because I was very bullied at the time, so I could escape reality. Why I was bullied? Tall, thin, flat, braces, glasses and dressed alternatively. I was in vwo, but I was bullied so much - pushed down the stairs, spit in my face - that I thought: never mind, this whole school makes no sense, life is stupid. It showed in my grades. I got failing grades and was transferred back to theoretical studies. I didn't feel right at all at the vmbo, where there was even more terror. But I did finish those years with two fingers in my nose. During online gaming I was respected, in that world I felt safe. Another outlet was making music. I was first in a metal band as a guitarist and around age 20 I was a guitarist/vocalist in a rock band. I still auditioned for the Herman Brood Academy, but I had such a huge fear of failure that I completely shut down during the audition. Instead, I went to SintLucas art school. Because you couldn't major in photography there at the time, I transferred in the second year to an ROC in Den Bosch to study photography. When I graduated three years later, I decided I didn't want to become a photographer at all, haha."
What were you going to do then?
"After being assistant administrator for a short time and working at G-Star, I went to study Computer Science in Utrecht. But that wasn't it either: after a year I quit. So I was quite searching. At that time, I entered a gaming competition for women in Belgium. There I met people with the same interest. They asked me why I didn't start live streaming. I didn't even know what that was. 'Webcam on, gaming, you can do that.' I created a channel on Twitch where I played World of Warcraft and commented at the same time. Just for fun, with no idea that I could make money doing that. Suddenly, things moved very quickly. I was approached by Cooler Master, who wanted to work with me. I thought, hey, will a brand start paying me if I game with their stuff? I thought that was really cool. At the same time, I was asked to present for the television program Gamekings, even though I had zero experience. It dawned on me that there were a lot more opportunities than the standard nine-to-five jobs. I was very much living in the moment. It's happening to me now, I'm going for it, I'll see where it goes."
How did you feel about presenting?
"Great, only I didn't quite find my niche at Gamekings. It did put me in touch with Blizzard, the makers of games like World of Warcraft and StarCraft. They had seen me on Twitch and were looking for a host for their most recent game Heroes of the Storm, since they were new to the esports world. So I ended up going from one job to another and the days filled up.
Describe the thrill of gaming.
"For a very long time with World of Warcraft, I had this feeling of 'oh, I want to play, I want to play.' The insecure girls who felt at home in another world. I was never into shooting games. I couldn't do it and found it way too aggressive. Games like Call of Duty I don't need to play daily. Then came Fortnite: nice colors, fat design, shooting. But an important element in this game is building, and today's kids are so fast that I can't keep up. Apex Legends has the perfect mix: the animated of Fortnite, but more realistic and a little more mature. I like it SO much, I get all happy when I play that. The same happiness I had with World of Warcraft . Apex Legends is really my main game."
How addictive is it?
"The creators of games obviously want you to keep playing. But in my case, it's certainly not unhealthily addictive. That was the case when I was about sixteen. Then I was gaming for hours, often late into the night. The only thing I'm addicted to now is working."
If you had a child gaming late into the night, how would you react?
"Gaming is allowed, but homework comes first. As soon as I realize that my child is sitting at the table like a zombie and can't talk to you normally because all they want to do is game, all alarm bells go off."
What are the similarities and differences between you and Jordi, who also plays and discusses games?
"For both of us it started with gaming, that was the starting point of our careers. The difference is that he makes YouTube videos about games and broadcasts them worldwide, while I play the games live. Jordi has built such an empire in such a short time, which is mega impressive. I'm nowhere near that level. Where Jordi has become very big in YouTube, streaming has mostly given me a lot of other work, making the whole thing a success story for me as well. Streaming is my least source of income."
Wouldn't YouTube be more financially lucrative than Twitch?
"I did make YouTube videos, only that's not quite my thing: I just love the direct communication with people."
What is Twitch's revenue model?
"Twitch offers two programs. To qualify for the Affiliate Program, streamers must have streamed at least 500 minutes in the past 30 days, spread over at least seven days, and have a minimum of 50 followers. As a Twitch Affiliate, you can earn money through advertising on your live stream, selling "bits" or virtual emojis and subscriptions: viewers can subscribe to your channel for $4.99, a portion of which flows to you. You can also become a Twitch Partner, which is reserved for a select few. Then you are entitled to a higher percentage of revenue. I belong to the latter category."
On Twitch, you have 50,000 followers. Would that alone be enough to make ends meet?
"Not with my lifestyle, haha! And it's getting harder and harder to hold attention on Twitch. There's so much happening on that platform! It used to be mostly for gamers, but nowadays you see art, music, dance... The weirdest things happen on Twitch. A few years ago I could make a good living from it, but people subscribe and donate less these days because I'm less easy to find because of that increase in other input. If I were streaming continuously, I would grow. But then I wouldn't become happier, because I want to do more than just stream. Twitch is mainly a springboard to other activities."
MASTERS MAGAZINE
Curious about the rest of the interview? The winter issue of MASTERS was created in collaboration with Jordi van den Bussche. Many will know him as YouTuber Kwebbelkop, yet he has been working hard as an entrepreneur for some time, as he reveals in the Big Interview. What's new is that his company JVDB Studios is offering to do social media marketing and short-format content marketing for other companies. "They can also go and figure it out themselves, but we cracked the code." Jordi gives a stage to like-minded entrepreneurs such as Jay-Jay Boske, Demy de Zeeuw, Chahid Charrak and Marcella de Bie, and discusses developments around games, crypto and NFT: "Just as bitcoin turned the financial system upside down, the same will happen with gaming." This extra-thick winter issue also features Lengers' first own ship, an interview with Corendon chief Atilay Uslu, specials on the new BMW 7 Series and Samsung foldables, and - exclusively for MASTERS! - an interview with Max Verstappen.
